Magnetospeed me

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  • lazarus

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 23, 2015
    13,678
    So, my club kind of sucks to run a chrono on the rifle line. You are shooting down hill to the 50yd berm and straight across for the 100. Personal preference, but I generally don’t like to test loads at 100 until I’ve seen them on paper at 50 as well as over the chrono (partly because of things like irons and red dots).

    The other is, well, optical chronos can just be so temperamental, especially if not shooting dead center over the chrono. So trying to shoot groups sometimes a group location will make it go nuts.

    And also I shit my chrono today. :D:sad20:

    Just creased it. Still works. But especially as it just sucks to run on the rifle line, I am looking at a magnetospeed.

    So who has used them? Recommendations?

    I do have cans. But I am still leaning towards the Sporter even though it’s not going to work with cans (without permanent modification anyway).

    I’d look at getting the phone adapter to download the data from the display to my iPhone. Anyone run one? How well does it work?

    Part of my logic is, for $200 for the Sporter and phone adapter, it should run well on my rifles. At least fingers crossed. Yeah it’ll mess my harmonics. *shrug*. That just means at worse I only shoot one group with it attached and another one or two for confirmation of accuracy and POI. At least if it’s getting me accurate data with no PITA of setup, that’s worth a lot.

    Same with a can. Well, cans don’t add THAT much velocity. I can always setup my traditional chrono if trying to figure out the velocity with a can on for a sub load.

    I’d continue using the traditional chrono for pistol shooting. It errors out sometimes, but the pistol line is 100x easier to mess with it on and setup at least. And usually I am not as bothered if I miss some data on a pistol load.

    Am I going to regret not forking out $400 for the V3+adapter? Or is the Sporter+adapter going to get ‘Er done for me?

    Lastly I figure if I am forming out $400 for the V3+adapter I might as well pony up another $150 for a lab radar and handle all the things easily and accurately.

    Which I’ll probably end up getting at some point. But the magnetospeed sport sounds like the way to go for the next couple/few years.

    Any insight and experience would be appreciated. Thanks!
     

    Biggfoot44

    Ultimate Member
    Aug 2, 2009
    32,884
    Don't do things half way , I once put a .45-70 right through the face of a chronograph .
     

    4g64loser

    Bad influence
    Jan 18, 2007
    6,382
    maryland
    Had a V3, hated screwing around trying to move it to different cans and barrels. Sold it. Bought a labradar. Be advised that labradar sucks on a busy public range. If you like cans, buy the add on tie clip trigger microphone.
     

    Scrounger

    Active Member
    Jul 16, 2018
    357
    Southern Maryland
    Saw a Magnetospeed in action, a friend has one. Then saw the Labradar. Get the Labradar and don’t look back. I bought the Labradar and for the few times I have used it, no regrets.
     

    Art3

    Eqinsu Ocha
    MDS Supporter
    Jan 30, 2015
    13,267
    Harford County
    I don't know if you use Amazon. I used to be a pretty serious addict (I have been clean ever since they killed Parler). A few years ago, I had accumulated enough points to buy a Labradar for about $200.:innocent0
     

    GunBum

    Active Member
    Feb 21, 2018
    751
    SW Missouri
    One of the guys I shoot with when I’m in Kansas has a Magnetospeed. It’s a fabulous tool when it is set up properly on the barrel. Problem... ;) It is super fiddly to set up on a barrel the first time. You have to put the little plastic spacers on the bayonet, and attach them with the world’s smallest screws. Fine to do on a nice day or in the comfort of your living room. Not so much fun to do on the range. Once you know what spacer combo works for a barrel, it takes about a minute to swap. If you have a barrel with a pretty strong taper and no muzzle device, the bayonet will try to walk off the front of the barrel. In all fairness, that was probably us no tightening enough.

    Once set up on the gun, the Magnetospeed gives good service. No worries about shooting the crono or shooting sky screens. No worries about clouds or about low light or about other shooters. It just works, and it works well. The software and phone adapter (we used iPhone) are very intuitive. My opinion is that you will regret not getting the V3.


    Another one of the guys at the range I belong to out there, and who we often see when we are shooting has a Labradar. If there are multiple people on the range, he gets irritated. Especially if the shooters near him have muzzle brakes. He says the Labradar is so easy that he sets it up and records the data for almost every shooting session. Basically, he puts it on the bench in front of his left shoulder (he’s right handed) and shoots as normal. This guy is retired and shoots mostly during the week, so busy ranges are not a problem for him. FWIW, he shoots and tunes for accuracy. He shoots groups on the 200 yard line (max at that range) that look like one ragged hole. He attributes a lot of the accuracy to being able to easily get lots of chrono data and adjust his loads to the accuracy nodes. He does a lot of prairie dog shoots, and says he puts the Labradar on his portable bench so he can adjust the inputs to his ballistic program live while shooting.


    I have a Shooting Chrony and an Ohler 35p. The Ohler is more accurate, and the Shooting Chrony is more compact and easier to set up. Neither is easy to use. I would rather have either the Magnetospeed or Labradar any day. However, I haven’t bothered with replacing them because of cost and the fact that I can use someone else’s stuff. :D
     
    Last edited:

    E.Shell

    Ultimate Member
    Feb 5, 2007
    10,245
    Mid-Merlind
    I had a V2, then got a V3, then got a LabRadar.

    I have used enough cheap 'skyscreen' (photcell driven) chronographs brought in by students to not trust anything but the Ohler I was using, and setting that thing up was a whole project in itself. My favorite disaster was the fold-up unit that had the photocells on each end. It would not lay flat and if it was folded even a little, it would move the screens closer together, giving artificially high velocities. The only way to make it reliable was to screw it to a board to keep it open and flat.

    Even the Ohler 35P was subject to shadow/lighting issues, but with the third screen, I could still usually get usable readings

    The MagnetoSpeed is a decent unit for what it is, and unless you run extremely small-diameter barrels, or cans, it's really a breeze to use. I compared it to a three-screen Ohler and it was VERY close, consistently within 10 fps.

    I shot my first MagnetoSpeed, just touched the top of the sensor with a bullet from an extremely thin-barreled hunting rifle. It "looked close" and was definitely closer than recommended, but I thought it would clear. I was wrong. Bullet barely marked the top of the sensor, just a little teeny streak, but that was enough to kill it. The company had by then put out a tapered adapter that solved the problem with thin, tapered barrels, which I bought with the replacement setup.

    The one drawback I saw was that it altered the point of impact slightly, some rifles more than others. Not so much affecting group size (precision), but group placement (accuracy), and so it doesn't work well for dual purpose (accuracy + velocity) range testing. This wasn't really a big issue, because OCW testing of precision rifles relies less on analyzing individual bullet placement and groups, and more on analyzing velocity trends.

    I got the Lab Radar with both the archery adapter and the airgun adapter. I really like it. Nice to not be working around other people's muzzles and nice to be able to shoot various rifles without tinkering with setup. I used a rechargeable mini-USB battery pack to run mine, which I charged in the truck, and it was good to get away from AA alkaline batteries, which I went through like potato chips. I have to admit that I never used it on a public range, so didn't see that aspect, but since it triggers on report, I could definitely understand that the surrounding gunfire 4g64loser mentions is a big problem.
     

    Sticky

    Beware of Dog
    MDS Supporter
    Mar 16, 2013
    4,501
    AA Co
    Don't do things half way , I once put a .45-70 right through the face of a chronograph .
    Yea, a 300blackout can kill it (don't ask...), but the .45-70 is pretty much a guaranteed kill!

    On my second shooting chrony and honestly, it works fine for me, never had any issues once I learned to set it up far enough away from the muzzle blast (and account for the scope offset on a typical AR at 15')....
     

    Biggfoot44

    Ultimate Member
    Aug 2, 2009
    32,884
    I'm sure the scope offset ( or iron sight offset for that matter) of AR's has killed many a chronograph .
     

    deerassassin22

    Active Member
    Apr 12, 2016
    700
    Littlestown, PA
    I won a V3 at a match earlier this year and I love it I also got the phone adapter makes exporting to Excel and storing your data seamless. The only thing that a few have mentioned is switching between guns and cans but its not that horrible. Once you know how to use it is not a problem.
     

    lazarus

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 23, 2015
    13,678
    Yea, a 300blackout can kill it (don't ask...), but the .45-70 is pretty much a guaranteed kill!

    On my second shooting chrony and honestly, it works fine for me, never had any issues once I learned to set it up far enough away from the muzzle blast (and account for the scope offset on a typical AR at 15')....

    That's what kissed mine. As you are shooting down hill to the 50yd line, its a pain. 100yd its not bad. Anyway, I knew I was shooting low, but with the scope offset, just enough to kiss the chrono with a round. Still works.

    But with the fiddliness of setting it up and what not and the sometimes it just misses readings or gives obviously erroneous readings...

    I appreciate the feedback guys. Between that and reading more reviews online I decided to get a sporter. On the way for $170 shipped and tax.

    Labradar would still be a lovely future goal, but there'd be some annoyances on the rifle line if it is a busy day from what it sounds like. And $$$. I am not sure I really need the ability to chrono with a can, nor with really thick barrels or long muzzle devices.

    I'll probably just throw a paper journal and pen in my chrono bag from now on and will consider getting the phone app and transfer dongle. I mostly want to see at the range the comparison between what I was testing and then go jot it down in my reloading journal back home. I won't take that binder with me to the range as I honestly don't care about having every single load recorded for all time. Just the short version and I can throw out the data for anything that's obviously going to be bad and can jot notes next to good loads. Like my Tok, I found 4.6gr of BE and 110gr plated round nose .308's seemed to work well. 4.2gr didn't cycle and 4.4 was weak ejection. Well, I wouldn't want to load those, so I just wrote down the 4.6gr data in my reloading log back home with the velocities, SD, ES, COAL, etc. and jotted a note of "4.4gr, weak ejection, 4.2gr failure to cycle" and called it a day. No need for the rest of the data on a load I won't try again.
     

    Pinecone

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 4, 2013
    28,175
    I have a Oehler 35P.

    For mine, there is a long piece of metal conduit with dimples to locate the screens. I used that spiral wrap to do up the cables and color coded them with tape.

    So pretty quick to set up. Open up the two stands. Put the conduit piece on the stands, plug in the the plugs to the printer unit, start shooting.
     

    Antarctica

    YEEEEEHAWWW!!!!
    MDS Supporter
    Sep 29, 2012
    1,728
    Southern Anne Arundel
    So I (perhaps foolishly) signed up for two upcoming PRS matches. Since its the end of the match season and I'm just getting started, I look at these as purely learning experiences - not worried about (or really even trying to) being competitive. Nonetheless, I would like to avoid making a complete fool of myself.

    So, I am trying my best to do my due diligence and be ready. Made some improvements to the rifle I intend to use, bought some match grade ammo (not ready/don't have time to work up a load for this rifle), and bought a magneto speed sporter, as I consider getting velocity data critical in absence of being about to shoot out to 600 prior to the match.

    Went to the range today to validate zero on this rifle and get the velocity data. The magneto speed didn't pick up a single round. Complete failure. "No Data" is all it ever said. Buddy and I tried multiple mounting attempts, reconnects, etc and it wouldn't do squat. Needless to say I'm done with this POS.

    To add insult to injury, there doesn't seem to be a Labradar available in all of North America.

    So, fool I will be...
     

    JBoshoven

    Member
    May 30, 2021
    28
    Severn, MD
    So I (perhaps foolishly) signed up for two upcoming PRS matches. Since its the end of the match season and I'm just getting started, I look at these as purely learning experiences - not worried about (or really even trying to) being competitive. Nonetheless, I would like to avoid making a complete fool of myself.

    So, I am trying my best to do my due diligence and be ready. Made some improvements to the rifle I intend to use, bought some match grade ammo (not ready/don't have time to work up a load for this rifle), and bought a magneto speed sporter, as I consider getting velocity data critical in absence of being about to shoot out to 600 prior to the match.

    Went to the range today to validate zero on this rifle and get the velocity data. The magneto speed didn't pick up a single round. Complete failure. "No Data" is all it ever said. Buddy and I tried multiple mounting attempts, reconnects, etc and it wouldn't do squat. Needless to say I'm done with this POS.

    To add insult to injury, there doesn't seem to be a Labradar available in all of North America.

    So, fool I will be...

    I could meet you at AGC in Marriotsville tomorrow with my labradar so you can get data. I have to cut my lawn, other than that my day is open. If you belong to another range and I can be a guest, that could work too. You can PM me if you like.

    Jack
     

    Antarctica

    YEEEEEHAWWW!!!!
    MDS Supporter
    Sep 29, 2012
    1,728
    Southern Anne Arundel
    I could meet you at AGC in Marriotsville tomorrow with my labradar so you can get data. I have to cut my lawn, other than that my day is open. If you belong to another range and I can be a guest, that could work too. You can PM me if you like.

    Jack

    That's a heck of an offer - thank you!! I've got some commitments tomorrow (family) that prevent me from being able to take you up on it, but I really do appreciate it.

    I spent some time today with the gordon reloading tool to see how sensitive a similar load is to barrel length (the main thing that I'm trying to compensate for given the on the box velocity of 2820fps), and I'm probably within +- 50fps of reality. I'm going to run with it and see how I do. It will hopefully be in the ball park out to 4-500 yards.

    Probably pick up a Labradar as they come back into stock too.

    Thank you again!
     

    JBoshoven

    Member
    May 30, 2021
    28
    Severn, MD
    That's a heck of an offer - thank you!! I've got some commitments tomorrow (family) that prevent me from being able to take you up on it, but I really do appreciate it.

    I spent some time today with the gordon reloading tool to see how sensitive a similar load is to barrel length (the main thing that I'm trying to compensate for given the on the box velocity of 2820fps), and I'm probably within +- 50fps of reality. I'm going to run with it and see how I do. It will hopefully be in the ball park out to 4-500 yards.

    Probably pick up a Labradar as they come back into stock too.

    Thank you again!

    The offer was not totally altruistic, deer season is around the corner, so verifying zero on a rifle I have not shot since spring is in order and I just finished loading a pile of 45 ACP that needs to be shot. Figured meeting you there would make the trip happen sooner, rather than later.

    And before someone comments on being irresponsible because I have not shot my deer rifle since spring, I just have not had that rifle to the range since spring. Other deer rifle has been there about once a month thru July and is ready to go.

    Jack
     

    PlumberEd

    Member
    MDS Supporter
    Aug 1, 2020
    96
    Taneytown
    I bought a V3 a month ago and really like the simplicity & dependability. The data is reliable and no more missed shots. Setup is fairly easy on most heavy barrels. Tapered sporter barrels are kind of a pain, the bayonet has a tendency to slide forward, so you have to check it every shot or so. The bayonet will shift the POI on sporter barrels but this don’t seem to be happen with heavier profile barrels.
     

    E.Shell

    Ultimate Member
    Feb 5, 2007
    10,245
    Mid-Merlind
    So I (perhaps foolishly) signed up for two upcoming PRS matches. Since its the end of the match season and I'm just getting started, I look at these as purely learning experiences - not worried about (or really even trying to) being competitive. Nonetheless, I would like to avoid making a complete fool of myself.

    So, I am trying my best to do my due diligence and be ready. Made some improvements to the rifle I intend to use, bought some match grade ammo (not ready/don't have time to work up a load for this rifle), and bought a magneto speed sporter, as I consider getting velocity data critical in absence of being about to shoot out to 600 prior to the match.

    Went to the range today to validate zero on this rifle and get the velocity data. The magneto speed didn't pick up a single round. Complete failure. "No Data" is all it ever said. Buddy and I tried multiple mounting attempts, reconnects, etc and it wouldn't do squat. Needless to say I'm done with this POS.

    To add insult to injury, there doesn't seem to be a Labradar available in all of North America.

    So, fool I will be...
    Sorry to hear you had problems with the MagnetoSpeed. In my experience, the company is first class on service and you might try a phone call or email before you write them off.
     

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